


we're on our way

by 2pork



Series: rose’s 500-word fic exchange [2]
Category: Produce 101 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen, Very not canon, they still want to be dancers though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-18
Updated: 2018-01-18
Packaged: 2019-03-06 07:28:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13406370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/2pork/pseuds/2pork
Summary: Jihoon made a promise with Haknyeon a long, long time ago, and he's determined to keep it.





	we're on our way

**Author's Note:**

  * For [slackeuse](https://archiveofourown.org/users/slackeuse/gifts).



> (500-word fic exchange)
> 
> a hakwink for jess.

_“We’ll dance. The two of us, we’ll sneak out of this village and find a troupe in the capital that will take us in.”_

 

(Jihoon and Haknyeon had talked about it. They talked about it a lot, weeks after they became friends and throughout the years that followed, in this dingy seaside town. As oppressed as the village has always been, with imperial soldiers kicking up a fuss and stealing away every man and boy so long as they have reached the age of maturity, there have at least been entertainment troupes stopping over on occasion, trailing colorful fabrics and huge horse-drawn carts that can transform into stages.

That’s how Jihoon had met Haknyeon, both of them infatuated by the graceful motions of the dancers; by how every line of the body, every wave of an arm, every pause accompanied by drumbeat, changed the flow of the story.

“Did you hear? Troupes can go wherever they want,” Haknyeon had whispered to him as they’d huddled close to a fire that evening, listening to the jolly troupe master tell tales of their most recent journey. “Isn’t that amazing?”

Jihoon remembers nodding with naive adoration. Entertainment troupes, those lucky enough to be awarded the Emperor’s seal, can travel the country unhindered, free from the shackles of military service. Free to pursue their art. _Free._ “Yes… I want to join one.” He’d met Haknyeon’s glittering gaze then, lit aglow by firelight, by excitement and anticipation.

“Then let’s do it.”)

 

That was years ago, long before they reached maturity. Now Jihoon is barely making ends meet assisting at the village bakery, and Haknyeon… Two months have passed since Haknyeon was taken away by the soldiers to join the Imperial Army. Jihoon himself is facing the same future in a week, and his only consolation is that maybe, _maybe_ , he’ll see Haknyeon when he arrives at the base.

It feels like a pipe dream, almost as much as their plans to join an entertainment troupe.

Jihoon stares out the window of his cottage. It’s immeasurably bigger now that Haknyeon isn’t barging in at every hour to nag about Jihoon’s habits. Quieter, emptier, and a lot more lonely. As he watches the twinkling pinpricks in the sky, he notices it once again. A faint tug inside his chest, a longing to be elsewhere, one that has been growing stronger with each passing day.

The promise with Haknyeon to leave the village is still alive, even without Haknyeon here to remind him. He would want Jihoon to leave, wouldn’t he? Jihoon can also wait out the week until the army escort arrives, hang onto the probability of reuniting with his friend. But will he? If they meet again, what happens after that? And if they don’t, what then?

Jihoon curls his fists tight and considers the near barren room around him. _I_ _have nothing to lose now_ , he thinks, and starts packing as light as possible.

 

-

 

Jihoon finds Haknyeon half a day’s distance from the village. Or Haknyeon finds him, hissing, “There you are!” as he tugs Jihoon behind a bush and pushes him flat on the ground, not letting go until the small group of soldiers searching the area are far enough away.

“Haknyeon, what… what are you doing here?” Jihoon asks, his voice muffled by fallen leaves.

“Looking for you,” is Haknyeon’s answer as he pulls his weight away and sits Jihoon up with little effort. “Deserting the army.”

“De— _deserting_?! Do you know how much trouble you’d be in if they find you?”

Under Jihoon’s frantic, wide-eyed stare, Haknyeon’s impassive face melts into a grin, confident and self-assured. “But I made a promise with you, didn’t I? We’ll just have to make sure they don’t catch me then,” he says.

“But, but we were supposed to go to the capital,” stutters Jihoon with increasing panic. “The entertainment troupes are all based there. So is the army! We can’t go there now!”

Impervious to the very real concerns Jihoon presented, Haknyeon only laughs. “Jihoon, think bigger! The capital might have all the troupes, but who says we have to stay in this country?”

“Outside… the country?” Jihoon breathes, the different possibilities unfurling in his mind. Nothing certain, of course, but Jihoon has never left his village and even the capital is a mystery to him. A different country? “Can we?”

“Why can’t we?” The Haknyeon in front of him is smiling with clear untroubled eyes, even with his scuffed uniform and scratched cheeks. He looks very much like the young boy that had befriended Jihoon all those years ago, with big dreams and the steady belief that he could achieve them.

Jihoon takes strength from Haknyeon’s conviction. “Let’s go.” He grins back at Haknyeon, reaching over to twine their fingers together. “Let’s do it.”

Haknyeon shifts his hand so their palms fit together comfortably. “You’re sure?”

“Yeah. Yes, of course I’m sure. Let’s go,” Jihoon says again. “But…”

Haknyeon pauses, head tilted expectantly.

“We have to ditch your uniform first.”

**Author's Note:**

> 1,000 paper cranes for my first wink ship before 2park happened to me.
> 
> -
> 
> Let me know what you think in a comment!


End file.
